Nick Stokes
Nick Stokes is the assistant supervisor at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Catherine promoted him to this position after Sara Sidle encouraged her to in the 10th season premiere. He is a Level 3 CSI. Physical Appearance During Season 6, Nick grew an ill-advised moustache, but soon got rid of it. Personality Nick has a natural empathy with the people affected by the crimes he investigates. Other members of the team believe that it is better to maintain an emotional distance. This difference in outlook is a source of much comment and occasionally raised voices. Nick is chivalrous; while interviewing two girls at a wedding, he took off his jacket and gave it one of the interviewees. (Rashomama) Nick can become emotional under intense stress: he nearly cried when being held at gunpoint (Who Are You), broke down and was on the verge of committing suicide when buried alive in a glass coffin (Grave Danger), and broke down once again in when discussing the death of the victim with Raymond Langston, and how he should have seen the danger signs over the year he had known her, and done something to prevent it (Turn, Turn, Turn). Nick changed after he was buried alive. (Grave Danger) He lost his temper and physically grabbed and intimidated a suspect he believed had knowledge of where a young girl was hidden. (Gumdrops) Afterward, Sara told Nick that she believed that six months ago, he wouldn't have lost control in the room with the suspect like that. Nick is currently single. Abilities Nick specializes in hair and fiber analysis. Early Life Nick seems to have had a happy childhood and is close to his parents. Nick's father is a judge. (Grave Danger) His mother is a lawyer, and Nick is the youngest of seven children. He has at least one brother. (Revenge Is Best Served Cold) Nick is from Austin, where he grew up playing football. Nick told Langston in Bloodsport' that, "I'm from Austin. I grew up playing football. When he was nine years old, Nick had a traumatic experience, most likely molestation, at the hands of a last-minute replacement babysitter. He never told anyone until 2001, when he confided in Catherine Willows in episode 203, ''Overload. Because of this Nick has trouble investigating crimes against children. Nick was a member of a fraternity when he was in college and is familiar with fraternity hazing, as he tells a fraternity member in the fourth episode, Pledging Mr. Johnson. Stokes spent his first three years out of college in the Dallas police force, then transferred to the Dallas crime lab, spending one year as CSI Level 1 before transferring to the Las Vegas crime lab. Season Five Nick was nearly killed when he was incapacitated using ether, put inside an acrylic glass coffin and buried underground while an installed web camera provided visuals of his plight to his coworkers who were initially helpless to save him. (Grave Danger) It turned out he was the target of an attack on the CSI team by a man whose daughter was implicated in a murder case. The deathtrap culminated when fire ants entered Nick's coffin and attacked him. Although Nick was in horrific agony in this ordeal, the ants gave Gil Grissom (who is an insect expert) a vital clue that allowed the team to determine his location. The box was also rigged with Semtex explosive. Thus informed, Nick's coworkers rushed to his rescue and managed to save him from the brink of death. Season Nine In the season 9 premiere, For Warrick, Nick is shown to remain calm and composed upon learning of Warrick's death. However, later, when confronting a wounded Undersheriff McKeen—Warrick's killer—the undersheriff goads an increasingly angry Nick into attempting to shoot him as well. Jim Brass hears a shot fired and arrives on the scene to find McKeen still alive and wounded, and a once-again calm Nick stating coldly that "he missed". In "The Grave Shift", after Catherine turned down the offer to move into Grissom's now-vacant office, she offered it to Nick—who accepted, after some thought. He in turn decided to share the office space with Greg Sanders and Riley Adams, who are shown unpacking alongside him. Additionally, Grissom's infamous fetal pig in a jar has been placed in there as well, by Hodges. Season Ten During the tenth season premiere, Nick is promoted to Assistant Supervisor on the Grave Yard shift after Sara advises Catherine that she needs a number two. Nick is also seen dealing with tarantulas, and is shown taking Grissom's old tarantula under his care. Quotes :Nick: (to Grissom) How come whenever you talk about bugs, people say you're a genius, but when I talk about birds people say that I watch too much TV? :Nick: (to Sara) You can't have a career without a job. :Nick: There's a sucker born every minute. :Grissom: Yeah, and they all come to Vegas. :Nick: (to Sanders) What's up, Einstein? Got anything there? :Nick: (to Sara) You took a shower... but you still smell. Trivia * In the season five finale Grave Danger, it is revealed that his father's nickname for him is "Pancho", and he in turn calls his father "Cisco" (probably a reference to the central characters in The Cisco Kid). His boss, Gil Grissom, later uses the "Pancho" nickname to calm Nick down while they are trying to rescue him from a coffin that has been rigged with explosives. * During the sixth season of CSI, Nick had a mustache, but soon got rid of it. * Nick first had alcohol when he was 16 or 17. (4x4) Notes * Despite being one of the more well-adjusted members of Grissom's team, he has personally been the victim of a number of crimes during the course of the series: ** He has had his car (and all the evidence inside it) stolen (Rashomama) ** He has been kidnapped and buried alive (Grave Danger) ** He has been held at gunpoint more than once (Who Are You); ** He was stalked by Nigel Crane (Stalker) ** And he was thrown out of a second-story window (Stalker) ** He was also accused of killing a prostitute, Kristy Hopkins before learning that he was framed by Jack Willman, the pimp who truly killed the prostitute. (Boom) Relationships Nick is usually affable and gets along with his co-workers. He considered co-worker Warrick Brown a very good friend. After Warrick died, Nick even put together a college fund for his son. He also often jokes and laughs with Greg Sanders even when the rookie CSI was still working as a lab technician. He often flirts with and teases Sara Sidle which highlights their relaxed friendship. He shares a good-natured relationship with former supervisor Gil Grissom, almost that of father and son, or mentor and apprentice. When Raymond Langston, the newest and least-experienced member of the team, joined the team, Nick acted as his right-hand man, giving him tips and helping with investigations. He is occasionally seen flirting with Catherine Willows, his good friend and co-worker Though he is not often seen with Conrad Ecklie, the former day shift supervisor, their relationship is a bumpy one. A sort of running gag throughout the series seems to indicate that whenever Nick gets with a woman, misfortune befalls someone else. In Boom, he sleeps with a prostitute named Kristi Hopkins, and she is murdered some time later. In Built to Kill, Part 1, Nick and co-worker Catherine Willows go to a club together. Shortly after Nick hooks up with a woman at the club, Catherine is drugged and abducted. During breakfast with the team at a diner, Nick eyes a pretty waitress and stays behind to get her number while Warrick Brown leaves. (For Gedda) Shortly after, Warrick is murdered. It is often mentioned that Nick is something of a ladies' man. He got a phone number from a female suspect he interviewed at a wedding in Rashomama. However, the only onscreen romance over the course of the series was the brief affair with Kristi. References Category:CSI: Las Vegas Characters Category:Males Category:Crime Lab Personnel